Colombia looking for innovative solutions to improve its education sector

19.06.2017

Colombia has ambitious plans to be the leading Latin American country in the education field. Colombian stakeholders in the private and public education sector have shown strong interest in the Finnish offering.

Colombia is committed to improve its education quality and coverage. The national budget for education rose by 6.3% in 2017. According to the Colombian Ministry of Education, Colombia plans to lead Latin America's education by 2025. However, there are still several challenges that need to be tackled. For instance, there is an education gap regarding quality and accessibility between urban and rural areas, the national coverage for higher education was only 51% in 2016, and there are improvement needs in teaching quality.

Relevant offering

There is demand especially for:

Early Childhood Education and Care

Teacher education and training programs

E-learning and digital solutions

Vocational education and training

Learning environments and infrastructure

In May 2017, a Finnish delegation led by Vice Minister Markku Keinänen visited Medellín and Bogotá and had meetings with several actors in education. The following opportunites were identified during the visit:

Antioquia region is planning to build a so-called digital university, which is going to be partially financed by the World Bank. There is interest in exploring new e-learning platforms available and teacher training programs.

Municipality of Medellín is interested in improving their training of school teachers and would like to learn about innovative early education platforms.

Colombian Government is interested in exploring new learning environments for early education and schools.

Competitive advantage of Finns

Colombia has challenges in providing equal education quality standards to all their schools. The Finnish offering matches well Colombia’s current needs and Finnish educational expertise, e.g. high PISA results, are well-known by the Colombian authorities and private sector.

Colombian stakeholders in the private and public education sector have shown interest in the Finnish offering regarding teacher training, e-learning/digital education solutions, vocational education and new learning environments and infrastructures.

Seize the opportunity – join business delegation to Bogota in October 2017

Finland and Colombia are strengthening their diplomatic relations by re-opening the Finnish Embassy in Bogota in 2017. In connection to the inauguration, Finpro arranges a business delegation to Bogota October 23rd-27th, 2017. Finnish education companies are warmly welcome to join the delegation to meet potential partners and other education stakeholders in Colombia.